ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Cabinet
Cabinet approves Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark-III Continuation Programme – Phase 6
Thirty Operational Flights of PSLV
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle  Continuation Programme  and funding of thirty PSLV operational flights under the Programme.
The Programme will also meet the launch requirement of satellites for Earth observation, Navigation and Space Sciences. This will also ensure the continuity of production in Indian industry.
The total fund requirement is Rs. 6131.00 Crores and includes the cost of thirty PSLV vehicles, essential facility augmentation, Programme Management and Launch Campaign.
Major Impact:
The operationalisation of PSLV has made the country self-reliant in the launching capability of satellites for earth observation, disaster management, navigation and space sciences. The PSLV Continuation programme will sustain this capability and self-reliance in the launching of similar satellites for national requirements.
The PSLV Continuation Programme – Phase 6 will meet the demand for the launch of satellites at a frequency up to eight launches per year, with maximal participation by the Indian industry. All the operational flights would be completed during the period 2019-2024.
The Programme will also meet the launch requirement of satellites for Earth observation, Navigation and Space Sciences. This will also ensure the continuity of production in Indian industry.
PSLV Continuation Programme was initially sanctioned in 2008, and four phases have been completed and the fifth phase is expected to be completed by Q2 of 2019-20. The Phase 6 approval will cater to the launch of satellite missions during the period Q3 of 2019-20 to Q1 of 2023-24.
Background:
PSLV has emerged as a versatile launch vehicle to carry out Sun-Synchronous Polar Orbit , Geo-synchronous Transfer Orbit  and low inclination Low Earth Orbit  missions. With the recent successful launch of PSLV-C41 on 12th April, 2018, PSLV has completed three developmental and forty three operational flights and the last forty one flights have been successful. PSLV has established itself as a workhorse vehicle for national satellites with a production capacity that would enable responding fast to commercial launch opportunities also.
Ministry of Culture
Ministry of Culture organized Rangoli Utsav ‘Umang’ to celebrate National Girl Child Day under Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.
Rangoli decorations at more than 70 locations celebrated the contributions of women to the journey of a progressive India@75.
The nation is celebrating Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of India’s Independence. Series of events are being organized to mark the occasion across the nation. As part of the celebrations, Ministry of Culture organized the ‘Umang Rangoli Utsav’ on 24th January 2022.
The day is celebrated as National Girl Child Day every year, so to commemorate the day, this year, a nationwide eventcelebrating the Girl Child was organized where the participantsdrewrangoli decorations on the roads and squares named after the female freedom fighters or the female role models of the country. The rangoli decorations were made at more than 70 locations in 19 states. The event celebrated ‘Girl Child Day’ and ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ together to appreciate the contributions of women to the journey of a progressive India@75.
The Girl Child Day holds immense significance as it makes the people aware about the importance of a girl child and her rights in the country. The event also raised awareness about the initiatives such as ‘BetiBachao, BetiPadhao’, ‘BetiZindabaad’ etc. The event remindedeverybody to close the gender gap and give every girl child the equal opportunity to grow, have dreams and fulfill them.
The families of freedom fighters who fought valiantly to make India Independent also became a part of the event. One such place wasRajgarh, Madhya Pradesh wherein the event was graced by the presence of family of Kunwar Chain Singh. Kunwar Chain singh was Prince of Narsinghgarh who fought the British in 1824 and was one of the first freedom fighters of India.At Jaunpur, ‘Umang Rangoli Utsav’was brightened with the presence of 119-year-old Maharani Devi Ji, wife of Shri Rameshwar Prasad Singh, freedom fighter from Jaunpur.
The event was also attended by the participants of #unityincreativity challenge, artists’ organizations and students of various universities and schools. People from local communities participated in the eventand promoted the spiritof ‘Jan Bhagidari’ and was successful in spreading the message of ‘Girl Power’.
Ministry of Law and Justice
WAN Connectivity to district and subordinate courts
One of the important components of eCourts Mission Mode Project Phase-II  is establishment of Wide Area Network  connecting all District and Subordinate court complexes, spread across the country. The eCourts project has made significant progress under the guidance of e-Committee of Supreme Court of India in computerizing 16,089 district and subordinate courts of the country through installation of case information software, hardware and local area network in courts, thus making judiciary ICT – enabled for efficient and transparent functioning with a positive overall impact on the justice delivery system.
The Department of Justice awarded the prestigious eCourts’ WAN project to BSNL at a cost of Rs. 167 crores for establishing Wide Area Network  connecting 2992 district and subordinate court complexes across the country including 547 court complexes with no connectivity. An online monitoring tool prepared by NIC for tracking real-time progress and monitoring of pan - Indian Wide Area Network  project against the set baselines was launched on 7th September, 2018.
BSNL has completed feasibility studies of 458 hitherto unconnected district and subordinate courts under the eCourts Project. The activities of BSNL with clear phases, tasks, milestones and timelines are monitored regularly by the Department of Justice. The project is expected to be completed by 31st December, 2018.
NNK/MD
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Ministry of Finance
Union Budget proposes PPP to unleash faster development and completion of tracks, rolling stock manufacturing and delivery of passenger freight services
Special Purpose Vehicle  proposed to invest in Suburban Railways
Government will complete the dedicated freight corridor project by 2022: Union Budget
Massive programme of Railway station modernization to be launched this year
Metro-railway initiatives to be enhanced by encouraging more PPP
Public-Private Partnership  proposed by the Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, while presenting the Union Budget 2019-20 in Parliament today to unleash faster development and completion of tracks, rolling stock manufacturing and delivery of passenger freight services.
The Finance Minister said that it is estimated that Railway Infrastructure would need an investment of Rs. 50 lakh crores between 2018-2030. Given that the capital expenditure outlays of Railways are around 1.5 to 1.6 lakh crores per annum, completing even all sanctioned projects would take decades.
The Finance Minister further said that Indian Railways suburban and long-distance services do a phenomenal task in cities like Mumbai and smaller cities. Railways will be encouraged to invest more in suburban railways through Special Purpose Vehicle  structures like Rapid Regional Transport System  proposed on the Delhi-Meerut route. The Minister added that “I propose to enhance the metro-railway initiatives by encouraging more PPP initiatives and ensuring completion of sanctioned works, while supporting transit oriented development  to ensure commercial activity around transit hubs”.
The Minister also said that “We will complete the dedicated freight corridor project by 2022 that will free up some of the existing railway network for passenger trains”. The Minister further said that “To make railway travel a pleasant and satisfying experience for the common citizen, we will launch a massive programme of railway station modernization this year”.
Ministry of Finance
Mastermind of smuggling narcotics arrested
17th September 2023
In a significant breakthrough against drug trafficking, officers of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence  have successfully apprehended the mastermind of an international drug trafficking syndicate, a Nigerian national, in New Delhi.
This operation follows a sequence of actions by the DRI, which commenced with the seizure of 500 grams of Cocaine on June 28, 2023, at a courier terminal. This operation led to the arrest of two individuals in a well-planned controlled delivery operation in the Nalasopara area of Mumbai, Maharashtra. Subsequent to the interrogation of the arrested individuals and thorough forensic analysis of digital devices, the DRI officers identified the mastermind behind the drug syndicate, who was operating from New Delhi.
Over the course of several months, with relentless efforts and surveillance, DRI officers successfully pinpointed the exact location of the accused. In a meticulously executed operation, the DRI team apprehended the mastermind in the Uttam Nagar area of New Delhi. Following his arrest, he was transported to Mumbai on a transit remand and presented before the court on September 16, 2023. The accused is now in DRI custody for further investigation.
Ministry of Commerce & Industry
Logistics Division, DPIIT, completes Survey for LEADS 2022
LEADS 2022 Survey receives more than 6000 responses across all States & UTs
The Government of India has prioritised developing a robust and cost-efficient logistics ecosystem. To fulfil this vision, the logistics division of DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce & Industry undertakes an annual “Logistics Ease Across Different States ” survey in all States/ UTs to assess and suggest various improvements in logistics sector of the country.
The LEADS survey assesses viewpoints of various users and stakeholders across value chain  to understand the ‘enabler’ and ‘impediments’ to logistics ecosystem in the country. The annual survey, processes the data received from stakeholders  and States/ UTs  and ranks logistics ecosystem of each State/ UT using a statistical model.
In the annual LEADS Report for 2021, Gujarat, Haryana and Punjab held top three ranks among States respectively while Jammu Kashmir, Sikkim and Meghalaya were top three in North-eastern States and Himalayan UTs respectively.
The LEADS 2022 Survey was rolled out in April this year. More than 600 physical meetings were held facilitated by more than 20 National Associations and 75+ Regional Associations across the country. Their active participation has resulted in more than 6,000 responses being collected this year. The States/ UTs too actively participated and provided necessary data pertaining to the survey.
The LEADS 2022 survey further propels the transformative approach by of PM-Gati Shakti. It identifies issues and bottlenecks which need immediate action and can help synergize supply chain. The National Master Plan which is being developed in association with BISAG-N now has 900+ GIS layers and 612 essential layers integrated by the States/UTs. The States/UT of Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Goa have been leading in the process of integration of essential data layers. Institutional mechanism for PM GatiShakti, all 36 States/UTs have formed State Logistics Coordination Committee , 34 States/ UTs have formed Network Planning Group  and 35 States/ UTs have formed Technical Support Unit . 14 States/ UTs have also formed logistics policy of which 3 States/UTs are in draft stage.
The LEADS 2022 survey, along with PM GatiShakti’s transformative approach, is to break the silos and improve the logistics efficiency of the country which will also reflect positively on international indices, such as Logistics Performance Index  conducted biennially by the World Bank.
The LEADS 2022 exercise is scheduled to be completed by the end of September 2022, which shall be followed by release of LEADS 2022 Report in October 2022.
Prime Minister's Office
PM to address CPSE Conclave at Vigyan Bhawan tomorrow
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, will attend the CPSE Conclave at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on April 9, 2018.
Senior officers of Central Public Sector Enterprises, and top Ministry officials will attend the conclave. The conclave will feature presentations on best practices in CPSEs.
In the afternoon, thematic presentations will be made to the Prime Minister on subjects such as corporate governance, human resource management, financial re-engineering, and innovation. The Prime Minister will later address the conclave.
NITI Aayog
Release of the Report on the Composite Water Management Index
In pursuit of cooperative and competitive federalism, NITI Aayog has been laying emphasis on developing indicators on various social sectors. In February 2018, NITI Aayog had released a report on “Healthy States, Progressive India” which covered the ranking of States/ UTs in various health parameters. As a step further in direction and keeping in view the criticality of water for life, NITI Aayog has prepared a report on Composite Water Management Index . The Report was launched today by Shri Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Shipping and Water Resources and Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog. Shri Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog and Secretaries/ senior officials of Ministry of Water Resources, Drinking Water & Sanitation and Rural Development were also present at the launch event.
The CWMIis an important tool to assess and improve the performance of States/ Union Territories in efficient management of water resources. This has been done through a first of its kind water data collection exercise in partnership with Ministry of Water Resources, Ministry of Drinking Water & Sanitation and all the States/ Union Territories.The index would provide useful information for the States and also for the concerned Central Ministries/Departments enabling them to formulate and implement suitable strategies for better management of water resources.Simultaneously a web portal on the subject has also been launched.
The report released today ranks Gujarat as number one in the reference year , followed by Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra. In North Eastern and Himalayan States, Tripura has been adjudged number 1 in 2016-17 followed by Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Assam. In terms of incremental change in index , Rajasthan holds number one position in general States and Tripura ranks at first position amongst North Eastern and Himalayan States. NITI Aayog proposes to publish these ranks on an annual basis in future.
About Composite Water Management Index 
CWMI has been developed by NITI Aayog comprising 9 broad sectors with 28 different indicators covering various aspects of ground water, restoration of water bodies, irrigation, farm practices, drinking water, policy and governance . For the purposes of analysis, the reporting states were divided into two special groups – ‘North Eastern and Himalayan states’ and ‘Other States’, to account for the different hydrological conditions across these groups.
The Report on the Composite Water Management Index can be accessed at http://pibphoto.nic.in/documents/rlink/2018/jun/p201861401.pdf
Prime Minister's Office
PM condemns attack in Manchester
PM condemns attack in Manchester
(The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, has condemned the attack in Manchester, United Kingdom.
"Pained by the attack in Manchester. We strongly condemn it. Our thoughts are with the families of the deceased and prayers with the injured.", the Prime Minister said.
Ministry of Defence
STATUS OF THE PRODUCTION OF DEFENCE EQUIPMENTS
The Government has taken several policy initiatives in the past few years and brought in reforms to encourage indigenous design, development and manufacture of defence equipment, there by promoting self-reliance in defence manufacturing in the country.
These initiatives, inter-alia, include according priority to procurement of capital items from domestic sources under Defence Acquisition Procedure -2020; announcement of 18 major defence platforms for industry led design & development in March 2022; notification of four ‘Positive Indigenization Lists’ of total 411 items of Services and three ‘Positive Indigenization Lists’ of total 3738 items of Defence Public Sector Undertakings, for which there would be an embargo on the import beyond the timelines indicated against them; simplification of Industrial licensing process with longer validity period; Liberalization of Foreign Direct Investment policy allowing 74% FDI under automatic route; simplification of Make Procedure; Launch of Mission DefSpace; launch of Innovations for Defence Excellence  scheme involving start-ups & Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises ; Implementation of Public Procurement  Order 2017; launch of an indigenization portal namely SRIJAN to facilitate indigenisation by Indian Industry including MSMEs; reforms in Offset policy with thrust on attracting investment and Transfer of Technology for Defence manufacturing by assigning higher multipliers; and Establishment of two Defence Industrial Corridors, one each in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu; Opening up of Defence Research & Development  for industry, startups and academia with 25 percent of defence R&D budget; Progressive increase in allocation of Defence Budget of military modernization for procurement from domestic sources, etc.
The details of value of production undertaken by private companies, DPSUs and other PSUs in defence sector for the last 5 years are as under:
|
|
Year
|
|
2017-18
|
|
2018-19
|
|
2019-20
|
|
2020-21
|
|
2021-22
|
|
Value of Production

|
|
78,820
|
|
81,120
|
|
79,071
|
|
84,643
|
|
94,846
Further, the details of indigenous procurement of defence equipment  by the three Services  in the last five years is as under:
|
|
Year
|
|
2017-18
|
|
2018-19
|
|
2019-20
|
|
2020-21
|
|
2021-22
|
|
Indigenous Procurement

|
|
54,951.30
|
|
50,499.96
|
|
63,722.37
|
|
88,631.75
|
|
86,078.06
Government has set the target of achieving defence manufacturing worth Rs. 1,75,000 Crore including defence exports of Rs. 35,000 Crore by the year 2024-25.
This information was given by Raksha Rajya Mantri Shri Ajay Bhatt in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.
Prime Minister's Office
When CM Shri Narendra Modi came to Dholavira
The Prime Minister office has shared an article by Archaeologist Yadubir Singh Rawat about the Prime Minister’s vision for the important archaeological site, since his Chief Minister days. Dholavira was accorded UNESCO’s world heritage site status recently.
In a tweet, the PMO said:
“When CM @narendramodicame to Dholavira…
An archaeologist shares his experience and writes about how tourism friendly and environment friendly infrastructure was created around Dholavira.”
Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying
The Prime Minister launches a Portal and Logo dedicated to the Conformity Assessment Scheme of milk products, in Varanasi today
Portal and Logo developed by the Bureau of Indian Standards  with the help of National Dairy Development Board 
Backgrounder
Quality & Food-safety are important factors for ensuring safe, wholesome and hygienic milk and milk products to consumers and is also important for a sustainable operation in dairy sector.
NDDB and BIS have been involved in certification of Process and Products respectively. NDDB has been awarding ‘Quality Mark’ to the dairy plants of cooperatives adhering to the process standards across the dairy value chain helping in building the brand identity for cooperative dairies and enhanced consumer confidence. On the other hand, BIS has a product certification scheme for manufacturers, including dairy product processors which also ensured food safety at product level allowing licensees to use ‘ISI Mark’ on their products.
However there was no unification of product and process certification- making it difficult to dairy plants to avail end to end certification. Further the consumer awareness was also lacking towards quality of milk and products.
With the initiative of the Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Government of India, after extensive stakeholder consultation, a unified Conformity Assessment Scheme was chalked out by BIS with the help of NDDB.
This is a novel and first of its kind certification scheme considering the perishable nature and short shelf-life of milk and milk products, as well as the extensive cold-chain involved in the production and supply of milk and milk products. This has brought ‘Product–Food Safety Management System–Process’ certification under one umbrella with a unified logo featuring the earlier respective logos BIS-ISI mark & NDDB-Quality Mark and Kamdhenu Cow.
This is a significant step towards ensuring Quality & Food safety of Milk and Milk products across the country as the Conformity Assessment Scheme will
- Simplify the certification process
- Create an instantly recognisable logo for public to be reassured about dairy product quality
- Increase the sales of milk and milk products in organized sector and in turn enhancing income of farmers
- Develop a quality culture in the dairy sector
PIB Headquarters
REVIVAL OF LAPSED PLI/RPLI INSURANCE POLICIES
 and Rural Postal Life Insurance  can now revive their policies till 1-1-2020. According to a press note issued by the Chief Postmaster General’s Office, as a one-time measure, policies which have crossed 5 years since the date or last premium paid. Such policy holders may revive their policies, by writing to any nearest Post Office.
Competition Commission of India
CCI approves acquisition of Marnix Lux by Concentrix Corporation and shareholding in combined company by shareholders of Marnix Lux
The Competition Commission of India  approves acquisition of Marnix Lux by Concentrix Corporation and shareholding in combined company by the shareholders of Marnix Lux.
The proposed combination envisages indirect acquisition of Marnix Lux SA  by Concentrix Corporation, and acquisition of approximately 22% shareholding in combined company by the shareholders of Marnix Lux.
Concentrix Corporation is a USA based publicly listed company. It is said to be engaged in providing customer experience services, a segment of Information Technology and Information Technology enabled Services.
Marnix Lux is the parent company of Webhelp S.A.S. . Webhelp is said to be active in the provision of business process outsourcing services and specialised services.
Detailed order of the CCI will follow.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
COVID-19 UPDATE
64.05 Cr. vaccine doses have been administered so far under Nationwide Vaccination Drive
30,941 new cases in the last 24 hours
Active cases account for 1.13% of total cases
India's Active caseload stands at 3,70,640
Recovery Rate currently at 97.53%
36,275 recoveries in the last 24 hours increases Total Recoveries to 3,19,59,680
Weekly Positivity Rate  less than 3% for last 67 days
Daily positivity rate reported to be 2.22%
52.15 cr Total Tests conducted so far